Parallel Sector Scheduling for Cellular Uplink Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cellular communications systems face latency issues due to sequential scheduling of user equipment devices (UEs) for uplink transmissions, which limits traffic capacity as multiple determinations, such as frequency allocation and modulation schemes, consume clock cycles and can lead to delayed scheduling.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a network node with multiple processing units that divides the coverage area into sectors, allowing for parallel scheduling of UEs across shared frequency spectra, where multi-sector UEs are identified and scheduled with primary and secondary associations to enable spatial division multiplexing, reducing interference and increasing traffic capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sequential scheduling is used for UEs requiring uplink transmission, then the base station can make necessary determinations (frequency allocation, modulation scheme, scheduling blocks), but latency increases and traffic capacity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The coverage area is divided into multiple sectors, and the scheduling process is segmented into parallel sector-specific scheduling operations. Each sector can independently schedule UEs simultaneously, eliminating the sequential bottleneck while maintaining accurate scheduling determinations through dedicated processing for each sector
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from one-dimensional sequential scheduling to multi-dimensional parallel scheduling by introducing the sector dimension. Multiple schedulers operate concurrently in different spatial sectors, transforming the time-based sequential process into a space-time parallel process that reduces latency while preserving scheduling accuracy
2Productivity
If multiple antennae are deployed to spatially divide the service area into multiple sectors, then the number of available scheduling blocks increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base station functionality is segmented into multiple independent sector schedulers, each responsible for a specific sector. This segmentation allows parallel processing of scheduling decisions across sectors, increasing traffic capacity while distributing computational complexity across modular units rather than concentrating it in a single complex scheduler
Solution Approach 2:
Each sector scheduler is designed as a universal processing unit that can handle multiple scheduling determinations (frequency allocation, modulation scheme selection, scheduling block assignment) for different UEs within its sector. This multi-functionality allows the system to increase capacity through parallelism without proportionally increasing overall complexity, as each scheduler unit reuses the same decision-making logic
Data Source
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AI summary
Mechanisms for scheduling uplink transmissions for a plurality of user equipment devices, UEs, that are serviced by a network node having a wireless coverage area comprising a plurality of sectors is disclosed. A plurality of schedulers is initiated in parallel, each scheduler corresponding to a different sector of the plurality of sectors. Each scheduler schedules in parallel at least some UEs that are associated with the corresponding different sector.